NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Woven Words Chapter 1 The Lament

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Question:- 1. Comment on the indifference that meets Iona’s attempts to share his grief with his fellow human beings.

Answer:- Iona Potapov’s kid had died just a week prior. He desired to express his pain and emotions, as well as his grief at his loss. However, the people he encountered, whether they were passengers or not, were uninterested in hearing his narrative. People were either in a hurry, weary, or preoccupied. As a result, none of them paid attention to his words when he began each time. Finally, he told his horse everything.

Question:- 2. What impression of the character of Iona do you get from this story?

Answer:- Iona was an elderly taxi driver who had recently lost his young son. He was reduced to a phantom form due to his loneliness. He want to speak with someone and express his feelings. He was so broken that he tried to speak to each and everyone. He bemoaned his loss, surrounded by sadness and misery. He was so engrossed in his son’s thoughts that he was completely unconscious of his surroundings, even the snow. He hurriedly drove his sledge and brandished his horse far more than was required. He lost control of his emotions and went on a rant about his loss in front of even those who had no interest in hearing about it. He attempted to communicate with his passengers, the police officers, and the three drunks. He was worried about his failing health and the fact that his son was no longer alive. He was well aware that earning a living would be challenging. He even told the horse that if his small kid had been alive, they would not have suffered and would have had plenty to eat. He appeared to be in the situation of a normal elderly father who has lost his little son and feels helpless and merely grieves.

Question:- 3. How does the horse serve as a true friend and companion to Iona?

Answer:- Iona went to his horse when he realised no one was listening to him and he had nowhere to go to lament his loss. He attempted to speak with his passengers, the officers, the drunkards, and the young cabdriver about his son, how he became ill, and what he said before he died. It had been almost a week since the mishap, and the Cabby had still had no one to talk to. Finally, he made the decision to go take care of his horse. When he was alone, picturing his son was excruciatingly terrible to him. As a result, he made an effort to keep himself occupied. He explained to the tiny horse that hay was all he had because he didn’t have much corn and didn’t earn much because he had lost his little son. He couldn’t handle Iona’s emotions. The driver continued to tell the horse the entire storey of his kid, while the horse patiently listened and breathed over his master’s hand like a faithful companion.

TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT

Discuss the following in pairs

Question:- 1. Empathy and understanding are going out of modern society. The individual experiences intense alienation from the society around him or her.

Answer:- Globalisation has ushered us into a new era. A world dominated by rapid technological advancements. Emotions and sentiments from the past are no longer relevant. There isn’t much time for empathy or comprehension. The ethics of our society have changed as a result of the evolution of an ordinary human’s lifestyle. People are busy, work is demanding, and the pressures that a person faces leave no time for pondering or curiosity. A state in which a person becomes mechanical and devoid of sensibility, and is overwhelmed by practicality. The way we think about society has changed. The individual feels cut off from society. Humans do make a contribution to society, but it is not through cultural values, but rather through technological growth. Our civilization has lost its sense of sharing and dependency, and we have constricted our zone by refusing to give in to sensations of joy, grief, fear, or love in any form. Humans have given up on such feelings and are adamant about not succumbing to them.

Question:- 2. Behind the public face of the people in various occupations is a whole saga of personal suffering and joy which they wish to share with others.

Answer:- Every human, like Iona, has an undiscovered part of his or her heart. They guard it, stealing it from everyone, but they yearn for it to be revealed, to be shared with a partner, a friend, a mate. A person, like a diamond, has a variety of facets. One of these facets is the face people present in public. Everyone has a child, a man in every female and a female in every male, who is unknown and concealed. They keep things locked away but yearn to share them with others. In today’s world, where we are all much wiser, more realistic, and much busier, we have little time to devote and communicate our inner selves with others. The genuine face behind each of us is carefully hidden, yet it yearns to be known and appreciated. We all keep our souls hidden, but we long to tell someone about our dark secrets. Sufferings, joys, passions, and our secret selves In today’s world, few people find that true match with whom they can share their particular pleasures and sorrows, which they keep hidden deep within their hearts.

APPRECIATION

Question:- 1. The story begins with a description of the setting. How does this serve as a fitting prelude to the events described in the story?

Answer:- The narrative of Iona Potapov is one of languishing. The reader’s mood is set by the setting, which is described at the opening; the environment is dismal and dark because it is covered with snow. The author attempted to elicit melancholy in the hearts of readers by describing the atmosphere, so that the readers’ minds are tuned in to the main character’s emotions. Iona’s looks and positions are described by the author. He has the appearance of a phantom who is unconcerned about the outside world, unaware of his surroundings and the snow that covers his horse’s back and eyelids. This nicely sets the tone for a storey that will reveal the protagonist’s grief over his loss.

Question:- 2. Comment on the graphic detail with which the various passengers who took Iona’s cab are described.

Answer:- The narrator described the passengers that rode in Iona’s cab by giving a character sketch. The cop was the first person to arrive. It provides us an understanding of the police officer’s frustration. These characters represent the modern civilization in which we live. How an alcoholic might react to someone’s sadness and how a police officer was unconcerned about someone’s loss. Even the boy in the stable seemed uninterested in Iona’s tale. In this fast-paced environment, no one had time to listen to what the unfortunate cab driver had to say.

Question:- 3. This short story revolves around a single important event. Discuss how the narrative is woven around this central fact.

Answer:- The plot of this narrative centres around a single significant occurrence. Iona Potapov, a poor cab driver, had recently lost his kid. Iona wants to share his grief with someone because he is carrying a heavy burden on his heart. As a result, when he realises that no buddy or partner can share his sadness, he tries to share it with the individuals he meets. Iona tries to communicate his sadness to the passengers on his sledge in order for them to understand how indifferent everyone is. His melancholy deepens as his misery intensifies. Only one thing remains consistent throughout this storey: Iona’s loss and his efforts to overcome it. The father is so stunned that he chooses to vent his frustrations to his horse. While chewing hay, the horse calmly listens to Iona’s storey, demonstrating that it is a loyal companion.

Question:- 4. The story begins and ends with Iona and his horse. Comment on the significance of this to the plot of the story.

Answer:- This narrative is a parody of how distant humans are, and how fortunate it is to find a true partner in an animal. From the beginning of the storey, Iona is seen with his horse. Iona’s horse and himself stood motionless at first when he was devastated by his loss and upset. It demonstrates that they were both grieving at the same time. Iona was grieving and the horse was a slave animal, so they were unconscious of the surroundings and heavy snow. The narrative tells how Iona expresses his dissatisfaction by brandishing the horse needlessly, yet the horse remains faithful to his master. Iona had no one to listen to him in the end, and his heavy heart was unable to let go of the weight. He finds solace in the presence of his horse. He approaches the horse, intending to feed him some hay. He tells the animal about the death of his young kid. He lamented the fact that, as a poor and elderly man, he would have difficulty earning money. To prove its trustworthiness, the small horse munches, listens, and breathes over its master’s hand.

LANGUAGE WORK

Question:- 1. Look at the following set of words and mention what is common to them both in form and meaning

Answer:- All the words given are different ways of breathing

Snuffle: To breathe noisily due to cold or because of weeping

Snort: Anger is expressed by blowing air out loudly through the nostrils.

Sniffle: To inhale air via the nose in a way that makes a sound, especially when sobbing or suffering from a cold.

Snore:  Snoring is defined as breathing loudly through the nose and mouth during sleeping.

Question:- 2. Look at the words given in the box below

Now classify them according to their closeness in meaning to the words given below

Answer:- boo giggle plod

snigger wriggle squeak jeer sigh titter

chortle

chuckle

guffaw sneak

straggle

scramble

sidle shriek

squawk

croak

gasp

pant

Question:- 3. Explain the associations that the colour ‘white’ has in the story.

Answer:- White is the colour of light. The irony in ‘The Lament’ reflects the story’s darkness. To accentuate Iona Potapov’s anguish, the narrator explains that he is so white that he appears to be a phantom at the start of the storey. His horse is white as well. The colour of snow is white. The lethargy and depression of the winter season, as well as how the entire atmosphere and environment appear to be cast into sadness, are reflected in the snow. As the evening wears on, it becomes more withered and white. The street lighting emit a white light that substitutes the brighter rays. The entire scene, which puts stress on the surroundings, depicts the cab driver’s loneliness.

Question:- 4. What does the phrase ‘as if he were on needles’ mean? Can you think of another phrase with a similar meaning substituting the word ‘needles’?

Answer:- The expression ‘on pins and needles’ literally means ‘waiting with bated breath’ to see what will happen.

‘On pins and needles’ is another term with a similar meaning.

SUGGESTED READING

1. ‘What Men Live by’ by Leo Tolstoy
2. ‘The Overcoat’ by N. Gogol.